- Aug 21, 2014
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An Inspirational Story I read online at Logos Software:
A woman tells God that she hates Him and discovers His love in return.By Kent Hansen
Some imagine that God hears only prayers that use the right wordsnice, reverent, positive words and phrases. The idea that prayer requires such words is hogwash dished up by pious perfectionists who want to sell how-to books and keep you scared enough to listen to their all stick and no carrot theology.
My friend Joyce had had enough! Years of surviving abuse, abandonment, illness, marital betrayal, bills, kids in trouble, and bad religion had taken their toll on her self-esteem and a once-vibrant relationship with God. She went home from work and climbed in the shower. There she screamed out to God, I hate You! I hate You! She poured out her anger and bitterness in curses as hot water washed over her.
She stepped out and toweled off. In the silence a question rose in her soul: You arent dead, are You? It surprised her. All her life she had thought that if you talked that way to God, He would strike you down.
The next day her landlord was working in her backyard. He came to the back door and called to her, Come see whats out here. She stepped out across the lawn, which had been mowed just a few days before. There, rising up out of the grass, was an unusual flower. It had a long stem supporting six deep-pink and white trumpet-shaped blossoms with bright yellow stamens. It was perfect. It hadnt been there two days before when the lawn was mowed. How had it grown so fast? How did it force itself through the root thatch of the lawn? Why was there only one? So many questions, and great beauty. She knelt beside it and gently cupped the blossoms in the hollow of her hand. She was delighted.
In that moment God spoke to her heart, See, thats what I think about you. You are unique. You are beautiful in My sight. I delight in you. Life and spirit flooded back into her heart and mind as she stood up in the restoration of the Lord.
My friends experience is authentic grace. Even now, long after this happened, if someone in our small group, where she first told this story, mentions Joyces flower, it brings instant smiles and tears of joy
A woman tells God that she hates Him and discovers His love in return.By Kent Hansen
Some imagine that God hears only prayers that use the right wordsnice, reverent, positive words and phrases. The idea that prayer requires such words is hogwash dished up by pious perfectionists who want to sell how-to books and keep you scared enough to listen to their all stick and no carrot theology.
My friend Joyce had had enough! Years of surviving abuse, abandonment, illness, marital betrayal, bills, kids in trouble, and bad religion had taken their toll on her self-esteem and a once-vibrant relationship with God. She went home from work and climbed in the shower. There she screamed out to God, I hate You! I hate You! She poured out her anger and bitterness in curses as hot water washed over her.
She stepped out and toweled off. In the silence a question rose in her soul: You arent dead, are You? It surprised her. All her life she had thought that if you talked that way to God, He would strike you down.
The next day her landlord was working in her backyard. He came to the back door and called to her, Come see whats out here. She stepped out across the lawn, which had been mowed just a few days before. There, rising up out of the grass, was an unusual flower. It had a long stem supporting six deep-pink and white trumpet-shaped blossoms with bright yellow stamens. It was perfect. It hadnt been there two days before when the lawn was mowed. How had it grown so fast? How did it force itself through the root thatch of the lawn? Why was there only one? So many questions, and great beauty. She knelt beside it and gently cupped the blossoms in the hollow of her hand. She was delighted.
In that moment God spoke to her heart, See, thats what I think about you. You are unique. You are beautiful in My sight. I delight in you. Life and spirit flooded back into her heart and mind as she stood up in the restoration of the Lord.
My friends experience is authentic grace. Even now, long after this happened, if someone in our small group, where she first told this story, mentions Joyces flower, it brings instant smiles and tears of joy